CRESTVIEW — Following an uptick in flu activity, the Okaloosa County Health Department urges residents and visitors to help limit risk of exposure to seasonal flu and get vaccinated.

The United States has seen significant increases in flu activity over the past two weeks, which indicates an early flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The flu is an infection of the respiratory tract caused by the influenza virus. Compared with most other viral respiratory infections, such as the common cold, influenza infection often causes a more severe illness.

“The most effective precautions we can use to fight illness are getting vaccinated as soon as possible and by practicing good hygiene habits,” said Dr. Karen Chapman, director of the Okaloosa County Health Department. “There is still time to get the influenza vaccine. With the holidays approaching, and many people traveling or gathering with family and friends, these simple precautions may lessen your risk of getting influenza.”

Those at highest risk during flu season include children under 5 years old, adults 65 and over, pregnant women and those with chronic health conditions like heart and lung diseases and diabetes. All health care personnel are strongly urged to get the influenza vaccine.

Meanwhile, watch for flu symptoms including headache, high fever, a severe cough, runny nose or body aches.

The Okaloosa County Health Department provides the flu vaccine free of charge for children ages 6 months through 18 years. No appointment is necessary. Adults can find information on flu vaccine locations at http://flushot.healthmap.org.

PREVENT THE FLU

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. Lack a tissue? Cough or sneeze into your sleeve.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water. Practice an effective hand washing technique. See http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/ for details. If soap and water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.

• Avoid close contact with sick people.

• If you are sick with flu–like illness, stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone, without using fever-reducing medicine, except to get medical care or for other necessities.

• Get revaccinated every year because flu viruses change annually.

Source: Florida Department of Health

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Health department urges seasonal flu precautions

DEFUNIAK SPRINGS — Hally Cobb and Richard Thomas are happy to announce their forthcoming marriage.

The bride-elect is a resident of DeFuniak Springs and a registered dental hygienist.  She is the proud mother of two sons, Nathan and Jacob Cobb.

The groom-elect is a resident of DeFuniak Springs and graduate of Creighton University School of Dentistry. He has two children, Monyca Nielson and Tarek Thomas, and five grandchildren. 

The wedding is Dec. 8 at the L.D.S. Temple in Saint George, Utah.  The couple plans to reside in DeFuniak Springs.

The News Bulletin publishes north Okaloosa County residents' engagement, wedding and anniversary announcements at no charge. Submissions may be edited for length and style. Call 682-6524 or email news@crestviewbulletin.com for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Cobb and Thomas to wed Saturday

CRESTVIEW — The city of Crestview will convert the intersection at S. Wilson St. and Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. to an all-way stop at 8 a.m. Dec. 20.

Motorists should use caution when approaching this intersection, officials said.

For details, call Danny Bowden, street supervisor, at 682-6132 ext. 105.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Intersection being converted to an all-way stop Dec. 20

CRESTVIEW — Crestview will have a new supervised visitation center for troubled families next year because of a group of women who want to make a difference in their community.

Impact 100 Northwest Florida was started in February with the goal of making significant improvements in Okaloosa and Walton counties. The group tries to bring together at least 100 women to contribute $1,000 each so it can present a local nonprofit group a $100,000 grant to fund a project.

The 128 members of Impact 100 voted last week to select the Judge Ben Gordon Jr. Family Visitation Center as the recipient of their first grant for $128,000.

“(The center) persuaded the women of Impact 100 that with $128,000, they could make an impact on their community,” said Michelle Anchors, president of Impact 100 Northwest Florida’s board of directors. “That’s exciting to us to see that there are children who will be able to visit their families in a safe and secure environment in the north end of the county, and that made an impact.

 “It’s been the most positive association with which I’ve ever been associated, and we just want to grow it because we can see the needs and you can see in 12 months that we’ll have a new facility at the Ben Gordon Visitation Center. Something that didn’t exist last year is going to exist next year because of Impact 100,” Anchors added.

The visitation center will use the money to buy a home in Crestview and add video cameras, offices, a secure entrance and a parking lot.

Sharon Rogers, executive director of the center, said they'd received a Safe Havens grant from the Department of Justice to fund the operation of a new Crestview center. However, that grant did not cover the purchase of the property.

 “I was overwhelmed and it was just a huge honor,” Rogers said. “(The Impact 100 grant) came along and it was really the perfect fit.”

Impact 100 had 34 non-profit groups apply for the grant. The other four finalists were the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation, Emerald Coast Science Center, Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance and OASIS.

Anchors said the goal for next year is to get 200 members, which would allow the group to give out two $100,000 grants.

“This is truly an organization that cannot happen with one leader or one good board of directors or a few solid members,” Anchors said. “It requires 128 to make it be effective at what it did this year. It really is about 100 percent of the membership.

“(Impact 100) will continue to grow exponentially, so that in 10 years we will say we have given more than $1 million so that there is one new significant project a year that is happening that wasn’t able to happen before 2012,” she added.

TO LEARN MORE: For more information on Impact 100 Northwest Florida, go to www.impactnwf.org.

Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Visitation center gets grant from Impact 100 women’s group

CRESTVIEW — Celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa at the Crestview Public Library 6-8 p.m. Dec. 20 during the ninth annual Noel Night.

Soloist Jenna Renee Lewis, Chanticleer from Crestview High School, led by Kevin Lusk, the hand bell choir from First United Methodist Church, also led by Lusk, and a worship music team from Emmanuel Baptist Church, led by Justin Wyatt, will fill the library with Christmas music.

Crafters, come early. There will be crafts while supplies last. Scavenge the library and win a prize. You can also win a prize by playing dreidel. There may even be a surprise visit.

This event is free, thanks to the Friends (who will bake cookies). If you’d like to give back to the community, bring a nonperishable food item for Sharing and Caring.

Call 682-4432. The library is at 1445 Commerce Drive.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Library's Noel Night coming Dec. 20

  CRESTVIEW — Community of Christ Church, 398 W. 1st Ave., will open tonight at 6 p.m. and will remain open until 8 a.m. Thursday.   The Okaloosa County Cold Weather Shelter Program provides protection during freezing weather.

Program organizers estimate approximately 50 to 65 individuals use the shelters each time one opens.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Cold weather shelter at Crestview church tonight

Members of the 96th Communications Squadron will activate Santa’s Hotline Dec. 10-14. All children can call 850-882-NOEL (882-6635) 5-8 p.m. to tell Santa’s elves their last-minute Christmas wishes.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Santa’s hotline opens

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — Highways 85, 123 and 285 will close briefly Dec. 11-13 for a series of missions.

The closure — scheduled to occur between 9 a.m. and noon — should last no longer than 60 minutes.

Drivers should plan accordingly.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Road closures scheduled Dec. 11-13

FORT WALTON BEACH — The Okaloosa County Water and Sewer Department is receiving calls from concerned residents about letters from insurance companies warning them they should insure their water pipes. These letters are not coming from Okaloosa County.

Residents are urged to contact their homeowner insurance agent or contact the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office at 689-5705 if you have concerns.

You may also contact the Better Business Bureau at 850-429-0002 or visit nwfl.bbb.org. For more information, call 651-7171.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa Water and Sewer not sending insurance letters

PAXTON — Less than a week after having a one-pound mass removed from her left cheek, Katie Renfroe was back home, recovering in a crib in the family’s living room.

View a slideshow of her return.

Her family expected 4-year-old Katie to be hospitalized in Hollywood in South Florida for at least two weeks following the 10-hour procedure Thursday.

“I told you God takes care of us, he takes care of her,” said her mom, Angie Renfroe, as she stood next to Katie’s crib.

The little girl watched her mom and smiled when Angie swooped in to kiss the top of her head.

“That’s a beautiful smile, it is,” Angie said, swooping down again and again to Katie’s delight.

Katie was diagnosed with megalencephaly before she was born, and doctors warned her parents of the potential severity of her condition.

The rare disorder caused portions of her head and face to be unusually large. She had part of her brain removed as an infant to control seizures.

Now, a surgeon in Hollywood will perform a series of surgeries to try to restore some normalcy to the little girl’s life. The weight of her cheeks was so heavy she got tired holding up her head.

Stitches line the side of Katie’s face near her hairline, and her left cheek remains swollen from the surgery. She also has a little bruising around her eye.

But she is alert, smiling and doing all the things she did before the surgery.

Her dad, Danial, who has been by her side virtually every minute, said Katie seems to be in very little pain. On their first night home, he slept on the couch a few feet away.

“I’m surprised my own self how good she looks now,” he said. “She’s pretty strong.”

Family members disagree about how rare the surgeon said her condition was. Their recollections range from one in a million to one in 10 million.

“Most (doctors) don’t even see a child like her in their career,” Angie said. “We already knew she was rare and special.

“I think all kids are rare and special in their own way,” she added.

In the two weeks since the world first heard about Katie and her rare condition from a newspaper article, donations have poured in to help the rural family of 10. The family lives frugally on Katie's monthly disability check and asks for little outside help.

They used some of the donations to help pay for the long trip to South Florida, including putting gas in the van and feeding the other children, who range in age from 1 to 14.

They also plan to pay back Angie’s brother, who loaned them his credit card to fund their first trip to the surgeon.

They will use the rest of the money to help pay for future trips. Katie faces as many as seven more surgeries to downsize other facial features, including her right cheek, left ear and tongue. She could return to the hospital later this month for the second operation.

Angie and Danial said they are a bit overwhelmed by becoming so well-known overnight. They were interviewed for a TV segment, but never saw it. They marveled that a waitress in Hollywood asked after Katie during dinner.

“It’s kind of like we’re famous all the sudden but it will go just as quick,” Danial said. “We’re people that kind of stay to ourselves. We don’t get out and bug anybody.

“It’s neat,” he added of the attention. “It’s a good thing that people are finding out that even though Katie has a problem, she’s still a person.”

She is the real superstar of the family, and acts the part. Toys in her crib are dumped overboard for the pure pleasure of watching a family member pick them up.

Propped up, surrounded by soft toys, she waves, claps her hands and signs simple words to family members. When her daddy picks her up, she snuggles into his shoulder and then makes a special Katie version of the sign for I love you.

“Daddy, you love him,” said Angie, from the couch, where their youngest child napped on her lap. “I love him too.”

WANT TO HELP? An account has been set up at Regions Bank in the name of Angie Renfroe for the benefit of Katie Renfroe. Catholic Charities also is working with the family. For more information, call 850-737-0864.

Contact Daily News Assignment Editor Wendy Victora at 850-315-4478 or wvictora@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @WendyVnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Katie Renfroe home after surgery (SLIDESHOW)